Sylvester Zanoxolo Mqeku

My process is a demonstration of an artistic practice which is highly innovative and promotes the use of 100% recyclable material (Sand). Much like playing at the beach sand as a natural material lends itself to expression, connecting the maker’s mind and body to the earth, its ability to withstand endless cycles of being shaped, formed and crumbled many times over.

Negative shapes are carved out of damp fine sand and liquid clay is cast inside them, after a few days the dried clay is dug out of the sand revealing an incredibly textured vessel form, , the exterior surfaces are coarse and entirely defined by the texture of sand, any mark or imprint that was made is now tangible and seemingly aged or weathered.
The work I create using this process astonishes me exceedingly because every excavated artefact is unique and impossible to replicate. The sculptural formation is then decorated with assorted metal oxides and Ceramic glazes. Artworks made using this process, often resemble objects dug up from another planet, tectonic life forms that appear fossilized or frozen in some post-biotic condition.

Mqeku was born in Mount Fletcher a small town on the edges of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa the hills that scatter along the Drakensberg mountains, later he moved to Umtata a larger town where he graduated from High school. He began his tertiary education at the Nelson Mandela University Port Elizabeth south Africa, studying for a foundation certificate in art moving on to study Architectural Technology the following year. After two years of architectural design work Mqeku discontinued and went back to the school of art and design. In 2009 he completed two years of introductory art and design studies, his qualification comprised of Painting, Graphic Design, Photography, Sculpture, Ceramic Design, Drawing and Art Theory.

In April 2013, after graduating with a diploma in Ceramic Design, he moved once again to a different province, the city of Bloemfontein and began volunteer work at the historical Oliewenhuis Art Museum. In the next few months Mqeku would be granted a temporary contract of internship a partnership between Oliewenhuis Art Museum and The Visual Arts Network of South Africa (VANSA) and by May of 2014 Mqeku was permanently employed at Oliewenhuis Art Museum. In early 2016, Mqeku was enrolled at the Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria South Africa, completing a B-Tech in Fine Art with a major in Drawing and introducing the investigation of sand cast ceramics.

On a quest to develop research into the innovative studio practice of sand cast ceramics, Mqeku was commissioned as part of the Goethe Project Space (GPS) by the Goethe Institute Johannesburg, and between September and October 2018 Sylvester hosted the first ever public workshop on sand-cast ceramics at the central University of Technology, Bloemfontein.

In 2018, Mqeku was selected to participate in an exclusive ceramic artist residency in Vallauris, France and in 2020, Mqeku spent two months in Dakar, Senegal at the newly opened Black Rock Senegal Artist residency, founded by Kehinde Wiley. As one of 16 international artists selected for the inaugural class, Mqeku engaged with Senegalese culture and art, developing cross borders conversations, workshops, language and drawing. Mqeku is due to graduate with his masters in design and studio art, which he spent researching the use of sand casting as a ceramic studio technique and how it adapts to public creative practice and multiple fabrication technologies.

In 2021, Mqeku was announced the winner of the StateoftheART Gallery Award 2021 and will present his solo exhibition in November 2022.

READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH SYLVESTER ZANOXOLO MQEKU

 

Selected Exhibitions:

2022 - (Upcoming) 'Birth of the Alter Natural' - StateoftheART Gallery (solo exhibition)
2022 -  'Black Rock 40' - DAK'ART Biennale, Dakar, Senegal
2021 -  '2021 StateoftheART Gallery Award Finalists Exhibition' - StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2021 -  'SculptX' - Melrose Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2019 -  'A.I.R. Vallauris artist residency' - The National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), Vallauris, France
2017 -  'Nirox Winter outdoor sculpture fair' - Nirox Sculpture Park, Rustenburg, South Africa.
2017 -  'Blessing Ngobeni Studio Art Award' - Room Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2014 -  First Prize Winner "New Season a Ceramics Exhibition" - Gallery on Leviseur, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
2012 -  'In Praise of Vessels' - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Collections:

Art Bank of South Africa